SEBASTOPOL — Bill Roventini, a Sebastopol native son and
five-term City Councilman who served as the city’s mayor three
times, died Sunday in Santa Rosa. He was 70.
The cause of death was complications from kidney disease, said
his daughter, Janelle Hunter of Sebastopol.
Roventini, who was being treated for kidney failure and
underwent dialysis almost daily, had been hospitalized two weeks
ago and finally asked to be taken off treatment, said Hunter.
“He was just tired,” said his daughter. “He said he felt tired
and done.”
The Sebastopol City Council is scheduled to issue a proclamation
honoring Roventini next Tuesday, July 6. A public memorial ceremony
is planned but not yet scheduled.
City Council colleagues remembered Roventini as a
straight-forward public figure with a ready smile and a friendly
demeanor honed during his years holding forth at Roventini’s south
Main Street barber shop that he called his office.
Friends and colleagues who stopped by to discuss the issues of
the day sometimes enjoyed an impromptu performance of Roventini
playing his accordion in the little shop next to Roventini’s
Paisano Market next door.
“It was a great place,” said Ken Foley, who served with
Roventini on the City Council in the 1990s. “The door was always
open. You’d walk by and hear accordion music coming out. I met a
lot of old time Sebastopol people there like Joe Furusho. I met
(former Mayor) Tom Miller there,” said Foley.
“Bill grew up in this town,” said Foley. “He knew
everybody.”
Foley called Roventini’s death “the passing of an era,” when the
city was governed by hometown regulars such as former Councilmen
Bob Anderson and Richard Johnson.
“They were the last of a bunch of guys on the council who were
born and bred in Sonoma County,” said Foley.
“I don’t know what that adds but I know it adds something,” said
Foley. “Bill had a feeling for the town that was unsurpassed.”
Roventini graduated Class of 1958 from Analy High School where
he was student body president and played catcher on the varsity
baseball team.
He was elected to the City Council in 1982 when the city’s big
issue was the controversial Redwood Marketplace shopping center
that Roventini supported, along with fellow City Councilman Richard
Johnson who was also elected that year.
Both men were the top vote getters, an outcome attributed to
their support for the shopping center that had drawn staunch
opposition from environmental critics as well as downtown business
owners.
“The Marketplace was kind of like a referendum in 1982,” said
Johnson. “We were the two top vote getters in that election by
far.”
Roventini went on to serve five terms on the Council, with three
stints as mayor and four as vice mayor. He lost a bid for a 6th
term in 2002, running fourth in a field of three.
“Roventini, in his usual gracious and self-effacing manner, has
taken the defeat with a sense of humor and a modest assessment of
his political career,” said former Sonoma West editor Barry Dugan
in an editorial after the 2002 election.
“Considering his length of service, and the serious health
problems he has had in recent years, perhaps the outcome of the
election is the best thing for the councilman’s well being,” said
Dugan.
“After 20 years, I wouldn’t be completely honest if I said I
hadn’t lost a little of my enthusiasm,” Roventini told the paper.
“Sometimes you have to be told when to take a breather.”
“Twenty years is quite a stint,” said Roventini. “I’ve had my
say and I am very proud of the people of Sebastopol.”
Roventini is survived by his mother, Virginia Roventini, two
daughters, Janelle Hunter and Jennifer Jensen, and seven
grandchildren. He is also survived by his ex-wife, Joann Kawa, and
longtime partner and companion Barbara Garzoli.
At his request, no service will be held. The family said
Roventini’s ashes will be buried next to his father, William
Roventini, at Sebastopol Memorial Lawn.
